Posts Tagged ‘omega three’

In a study of young adults, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh found that a dietary increase of Omega-3 supplements boosted working memory.

“We found that [young people] can enhance their working memory performance even further, despite their already being at the top of their cognitive game,” said Bita Moghaddam, professor of neuroscience on the team.

The researchers used n-back training to determine working memory performance prior to a 6 month period of Omega-3 supplementation.

“What was particularly interesting about the presupplementation n-back test was that it correlated positively with plasma Omega-3,” said Moghaddam. “This means that the Omega-3s they were getting from their diet already positively correlated with their working memory.”

“So many of the previous studies have been done with the elderly or people with medical conditions, leaving this unique population of young adults unaddressed,” said Matthew Muldoon, project coinvestigator and associate professor of medicine at Pitt. “But what about our highest-functioning periods? Can we help the brain achieve its full potential by adapting our healthy behaviors in our young adult life? We found that we absolutely can.”